Wolves for the Highlands
From The BBC
He plans to wind back the clock at his estate in the Highlands by repopulating the land with a raft of animals that have not been seen in Britain for hundreds of years - including brown bears, lynx and wolves.
Presumably there’s method in this madness.
He explained: “The main problem we have in Scotland is a complete overpopulation of red deer. We probably have triple or quadruple the number of red deer than we can sustain.”
Local farmers are worried about the impact on local livestock should any large predators escape from the Alladale Estate.
On the other hand, the proposed fence to keep animals in is worrying local ramblers who want to safeguard their right to roam.
So, instead of hiring a team of gamekeepers and charging people for the priveledge of getting their own fresh venison (which I’m guessing would break even at worst), he’s going to solve the problem by re-introducing animals that few of his neighbours want, whilst pissing off the ramblers at a cost of millions of pounds.
You’d think the heir to MFI would be a bit brighter than that.
RSS
Madness indeed. Like those fences are going to be 100% reliable and everything.
But as I always say, the poor Indians are doing their best to wipe out tigers (nasty vicious animals) for the same reasons as we originally wiped out bears and wolves. But stupid Westerners are up in arms about it. Tigers should be in zoos, not preying on farm animals or little kids AFAIAC
Your view on a previous post about tigers modified my view on the subject, Mark.
On the one hand, there are people who want rid of them because they’re nasty vicious animals, there are people who want to farm them for various bits for dodgy medicine, and people who would like them kept alive because they’re magnificent creatures (mostly westerners, but also people who benefit in terms of running hotels for westerners).
The answer lies in trying to manage them to meet all 3 demands. So, you want some sort of combination of reserves that keep them protected and a distance from people who don’t want them around and farms for all the dodgy medicine people* who want bits of them.
*yes, the medicinal uses are unscientific bollocks, but it’s probably best to try and live with that and cater to it than allow poaching.
Very sensible. You say ‘reservation’ I say ‘zoo’. And if they can make money by charging dumb Westerners big bucks for shooting them (what used to be a key part of the ‘Indian experience’), then why not? And sell the left over bits to dodgy medics.
ok. Reservation is a zoo, albeit on a bloody enormous scale. Considering the density of most of Africa, it’s not a problem.
But the UK has no sodding need of bears or lynx.
Reminds me of the scene in The Meaning of Life where Eric Idle has his leg bitten off:
“A tiger? In Africa?”
“Yes. It must have escaped from a zoo.”